Having voiced my thoughts in regards to 'death is an acceptable consequence", I will try to hammer down my point in this discussion, which I think is one shared by many.
There is, and in MY opinion, should be a difference in how one chases solo/with a couple other experienced people verses chasing with a tour group or a group of inexperienced people.
People are trying to argue how chasers don't take risks, and that's obviously not true. I, along with most everyone here, HAS taken risks while chasing. But to use that argument against people who are advocating a safer method of chasing for those who are in charge of the care of a group of people, is (again, in MY opinion) not valid.
I think it's a given that most tour guests THINK they want the action of baseballs, close encounters, etc. It's like with anything else that has this adrenaline rush, people want to push those limits. But I believe if you survey an average group of chaser tourists, not ALL of them want to duck and cover when the windows are being blown out, or have that rush of being too close. And even those that say they do, how do they react to being rolled by a tornado. Sure, a couple may think that was the greatest moment of their life, but I foresee that number shrinking by a few.
Tour groups, or hell, I'll even scale it down, an experienced person with newbies in the car. I think (again, MY opinion) that you have to take a additional step or two for safety. People who are not experienced, no matter what they claim, likely do NOT know what they're in for. They're wanting to SEE tornadoes. They should not EXPERIENCE tornadoes. If you're alone, or you have a partner or two whom has been chasing a while, you're not held to the same regard of safety considerations when compared to a tour group.
You can't argue my opinion by saying to me, "well hell, you're taking risks and putting yourself in jeopardy", then compare that to being in charge of a bunch of people and saying they can take the same risks. No, that's not true. And you know that. The argument is weak. I ALWAYS step it back when I have someone with me who is less experienced. Hell, even with another experienced person in the car, I've changed my chasing. As I am being the wheel of my car, I take responsibility for those in my car, in my control. And if I am alone, it's just me. Now my level of "risk taking" is definitely several scales lower than some others, but I, of course, do take calculated risks in some circumstances, WHEN I AM ALONE.
When you start putting other people in my vehicle, whom are at the whim of my decisions, a lot of options immediately disappear. And those who have chased with me can vouch. We'll discuss the option, including the consequences. Ask Tom D and Jon V about our discussion the night of Greensburg. And myself and Jon being early in our careers, opted to NOT chase down the historical Greensburg tornado because we felt it was too risky to get into viewing position. We chose not to take the risk then. As young and inexperienced as we were then, and as tempting as such an event would be, we stopped, discussed, and opted to NOT. Instead, we returned to I-70 and shot lightning on other storms.
That has been a practice of mine for years since... and I have missed big events as a result. I turned away from the 2013 Moore day midway into the trip to the target area because I had concerns over chasing a high end event through a metro area in Oklahoma (and I was by myself in the car that day). Ask me why I never appeared in an episode of the final season of Storm Chasers (they couldn't find any "stories" for me). I can promise you the pressure was there to take risks for better TV. And trust me, there were four letter words exchanged with the crew in regards to my thoughts and decision making process.
Some of those decisions came in real time during an event, others in the hours before an event. There will be other storms, other tornadoes. No sense in risking it all for one. Now, does that mean I have not made a gamble? Absolutely not. But again, most of those risks were on me solo, or with discussion among those in my vehicle. And those in my car have pushed (including "employers" such as DC), and I did not proceed as I viewed the risk too great.
I am not just blowing hot air... I am speaking from experience in this matter. Experience of turning away from chase days/storms/tornadoes because I made the decision that the risk was too great. Again, I have taken the risks, but I have also stood down. Sometimes solo, sometimes with others. I am not perfect, I have made decisions that put me in risky situations. I am not innocent. Just like anyone here. But because it doesn't catch the flair of the extreme video, those stories of bailing on a chase/storm/tornado don't make the headlines as well as these. And that's just fine and dandy, whatever. It's boring, I get it. But again, I have made much less dangerous decisions when others are in the car with me than I do/would when I am responsible only for myself.
So chasing with tours... I think automatically, you have to build in an additional buffer in regards to safety of the clients in the vans. And you cannot take the same level of risks interacting with a storm as you would on your own. And for those of us who are advocating this point, none of us are claiming to never take risks. None of us. But we are saying that are methods will change when you introduce other people into those circumstances.
That is the point... it is not that none of us are risk takers. But when you run a tour group, or operate a business involving people, you need to step back in the interest of their safety. And situational awareness needs to have a huge factor in this. You cannot approach a storm like Dodge City or Bennington (1.0) in the same manner you approach a rain-wrapped, low visibility storm such as this. It's all situational based, and if you cannot see the differences in each situation and make those decisions based on those conditions, you should not be in charge of making those decisions. There are times to get close, and there are times to get the hell out of there. Accidents like this do not have to happen, and the track records show that these are isolated incidents. But as we know all too well, all it takes is ONE isolated incident to change your world. Regardless of the research put into this event by all of us outsiders, we truly do NOT know exactly what went down that afternoon. But what I think we can all agree on was that vans full of people, most of whom knew little if anything about the situation, we put into a dangerous situation which fortunately resulted in only minor consequences. I also think we all agree that some of us would've handled that situation differently. But the point I am trying to drive home, or the question we're trying to find an answer to, is where do you draw that safety line when you are in charge of other people out there in a storm environment. Do you/should you change your approach as a solo chaser verses a tour guide? Do you take the same risks with those guests as you would on your own? And the question to which we may never get the answer, did these tour guides push that envelop too far given the conditions at hand?
Complacent, a word I'm surprised hasn't been used more than I've seen, is a word we should all be very concerned about. And that word will continue to come up as we as chasers get more and more complacent, and things like this happen more often. You're in charge of people, whom largely do NOT have the experience to know the true dangers of these situations. Take responsibility for that, because one day this is going to happen and people are going to die, and God only knows what happens from there.
So that's my angle on solo/few people chasing verses group chasing/tourism. It's long-winded, I get it. And I know it's gone in one eye and out the other. But that's my point. My opinion. Many don't like it, many don't agree, and that's fine. But I wonder if you should to an extent. And was this tornado worth that risk given the circumstances of having full vans of people... that's where I say no. Lets agree to disagree. But that's the thoughts of one 20-plus year vet, one who has weighed risks based on who is with me... take it for what you will.
Just thought I'd point out we are talking about the man, most tornadoes viewed world record holder. People join SLT to see.... tornadoes. The idea that SLT would not be in position to have eyes on developing *tornado* is a bit illogical, IMO.
HP storms are not just blobs of rain like you see on radar, with folks running around in there squinting through the rain. It can get like that but folks hang in there with eyes on the wall cloud or tornado while shooting through the rfd or heavier rain as necessary. It seems some here are commenting not understanding this is common practice. And I guess I assumed it was common for tour groups to do the same, at least with storms that were not yet full on HP. The only time rfd pass through doesn't work is when there is a freaking tornado in there like you see in Mr. Reynolds video. That is crazy. Storms are amazing and complex and some more than others. I do not understand how that could even happen really. This driving through rain around the main circulation is done thousands of times every year by chasers. Correct me if I'm wrong. The risk for tornado like that is extremely low and crazy low that you would actually cross paths. So I do not understand the logic of coming to the place of using the word "negligent".
Anyhow, I realize I'm speaking from a strictly rational point of view about the low risks. Others speak from a more emotional place and even may have deep emotional ties regarding this topic and I think that is reasonable and maybe the reason for some comments here. A few seconds difference in travel paths would have made all the difference. A very unfortunate incident. I can address Tony's reply more thoroughly later but I am not talking at all about traffic accidents. That is a completely different issue. I'm just saying that everyone that actually wants to ride a horse assumes a risk. If you want to ride a donkey it might be more safe but you should not insist everyone have your opinion.
